Upside Down
by nickie.nikolova
Summary: How could she think about the man that broke her heart in a thousand pieces when she had Joel? She felt safe and secure with him. Joel was her safe harbor, so why did her mind want her to go out into the raging sea storm that was Wade Kinsella?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, there! This is my first ever fanfic, although I have been reading for quite some time now. I still don't know where this story is exactly going and you will have to excuse me if it's a little bit OOC. Also, I would like to apologize if it is a little too short. I hope you like it and I look forward to reading your reviews (of course, if there are any) :)**

* * *

'Honey, can you pass me the soda?' asked Joel, distracted and staring at the computer screen, still suffering from a terrible writer's block. He reached out his hand and clutched the soda can Zoe handed to him. She then resumed to flipping through the pages of Vogue, satisfied with the fact that last month she had finally convinced Frank to sell a couple of issues of the Fashion bible in the Dixie Stop. This felt like a small victory to the fashion-forward doctor.

Last night she had received a package from New York with her favourite black and white cookies from her mother and now she was blissfully chewing on what felt like the thirtieth cookie, still amazed by how much she had missed the taste of the exquisite chocolate melting in her mouth with every single bite.

One thought led to the other and Zoe found herself thinking of awful tasting black and white cookies, short dusty blond hair, hazel eyes and crooked smirks. She reminisced about the old times and the warm feeling of nostalgia invaded her mind. It spread all over her body and for just a moment she wished that the Battle of The Bands had never happened, that Wanda and Tom's wedding was something she liked to think about. Instead it was something she had locked in the deepest corners of her memory, never letting it surface again. She had been so shocked to find out that she was more than just hurt and cheated on – she was betrayed and she was lied to by the person she trusted the most and that made her feel so weak and fragile, just like a lost puppy. And she hated that feeling. Yet somehow the only thing she could think about in this very moment, as short-lived as a streak of lightning during a storm, was his warm and welcoming embrace and his stubble brushing against her cheek.

Like a reminder that she was in a serious relationship with a snarky New York writer now, Joel cleared his throat, which put Zoe out of her trance-like state. She sighed quietly not wanting to attract Joel's attention and felt a little bit ashamed of her thoughts. How could she think about the man that broke her heart in a thousand pieces when she had Joel – he was a successful writer with a future ahead of himself, who loved her deeply. He was everything she had ever wanted in a guy. She felt safe and secure with him, not worrying that he might do something stupid. Joel was her safe harbor, so why did her mind want her to go out into the raging sea storm that was Wade Kinsella?

'Speak of the devil' she murmured as his name popped up on the screen of her cellphone. The blood drained from her face for some non-apparent reason.

'What, honey?' Joel said cheerfully as he had found himself a way to unblock his mind.

She picked up and the unexpected caller on the other side caused her eyes to glow in surprise.

'Pretty Doctor, is that you?' the Southern accent was much heavier than Wade's and Zoe could have sworn that she could smell the liquor through the phone. Earl sounded worried and Zoe realized she had never heard worry in his voice before. During most of their encounters he was so drunk he probably didn't even know how to spell out his name and was always so cheerful.

'Earl, is that you?' Joel turned towards Zoe and mouthed 'Who the hell is Earl?'

Zoe just waved her hand in irritation as Joel was distracting her when obviously there was an emergency. Earl went on to explain her with so many details how his TV had cut off last night and he had called Wade to come and see what he could do. Wade had climbed up on the roof and slipped up, falling on his back.

'He's unconscious, Doc!' Zoe never heard Earl so sober, even if he still slurred the words at the end of every sentence. The shock had cleared the mind of Wade's dad and now he was begging her to come and help his son.

'I'm on the way!' Zoe was already on her feet with her heart beating as if she had just ran a marathon. She knew just how tall was Earl house and the image of Wade falling off of it made her heart skip a beat. 'Joel, I've got to go, it's an emergency. If someone comes looking for me, tell them I'm at Earl's.'

'Once again, who is Earl?' Joel asked, but Zoe was already out of the room.

* * *

Wade felt the burning pain in his lower back, throbbing and pulsating. He felt like somebody had been kicking him for the past half hour while he lied defenseless on the ground. He tried to move his legs but the unsuccessful trial only made the pain more excruciating. Wade tried to open his eyes – yet another mission impossible. He grunted then, more annoyed than in pain that he wasn't even able to get back on his feet.

He finally opened his eyes when somebody slapped him across the right side of his face. He would never ever admit though that the slap itself was so painful, his cheek had burned and itched for another half hour.

He was glad though that the first thing he saw was Zoe Hart with her messy waves tied in a ponytail at the top of her head, her eyes filled with worry and a growing smile at the sight of him coming back to consciousness. She flicked her penlight in front of his face to check if he's responsive and then with a heavy sight sat on the ground beside him.

'Will he be okay, Doc?', his father asked.

'He hit his head pretty hard, but from what I see – no concussion - and his back is probably bruised, but from the looks of it, he'll be fine.'

She then smiled as she turned her gaze towards him.

'Doc, what are you doing here?' His whole head was pounding and his ears were ringing. Even his own voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard in his head.

'Here, let me help you', she reached out her hand and pulled him to a sitting position. He was amazed by how much strength the Doc had in that tight little body of hers. 'Apparently, you were fixing Earl's antenna when you slipped and fell. Good thing you fell in this pile of leaves, otherwise your back could have been broken. '

A couple of raindrops fell on her arm and she turned to his dad, asking Earl to help bring Wade inside. As soon as they entered Crazy Earl's house, it started to pour.

'I forgot to get my bag, there's some Advil there. I'll just go get them – they're in the car.' But before she even made a step outside, Earl stopped her.

'Don't bother, Doc. I'll go get 'em. You stay here and help my boy.' Earl went out, holding his jacket over his head.

'Isn't Brick on call?' Wade asked weary. 'Why'd you came?'

'Well, your dad called me. He was freaking out. And he kind of hates Brick, so… I guess I was the only option left.'

It was weird being around her. They hadn't talked much since she came back from New York. They hadn't talked at all while she was in that big city of hers, thinking through Wade's declaration of his love for her for almost half a year. And then she came back with that geek under her arm. He had to admit, he didn't like the guy simply because he was with Zoe.

He thought he had got over her, her small petite frame and her big mouth that never stopped talking. But when he had seen her back in town all he could think about was grabbing her by the waist and pulling her in for a long deep kiss.

Earl stumbled through the front door, handing Zoe's purse to her. She searched inside of it and some minute later she found the pills.

'Here. Take one every six hours for the next couple of days and you should be fine. You are, though, in no condition to drive, so I will have to drive you back to the plantation.'

'Nah, I should be fine, Doc', he protested, but Zoe wasn't taking any of it.

'Yes! And I will give full instructions to Lavon what to do with you, 'cause I know you won't take the pills, because you think that taking them makes you less… masculine?'

Wade shot her a dirty look, but nonetheless followed her as she opened her umbrella and to her car. It was that weird tickling feeling of satisfaction when you realize that you have somebody that knows you that well, that settled in his lower stomach as he climbed in the passenger seat of her car with a grunt of pain.

He smiled faintly of the vision that was Zoe Hart – the ends of her hair were dripping wet from the rain. Her eyes were focused on the road as if she was avoiding his gaze, while her cheeks were red from blushing because she knew he was watching her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! There you go! The first update ever! I am so thankful to all of you who took time to read the first chapter and to those who even posted reviews, which couldn't have me more happier. Thank you so much. I am sorry if there are any mistakes there, but English is not my mother tongue and it sometimes happens to make a stupid typo. I hope you like this and I look forward to your feedback :)**

**I do not own Hart of Dixie.**

* * *

How was it possible that there were so many places to eat in New York that you can be at a different restaurant every single night for the next fifty-something years and not go to the same place twice? But more importantly, how could there be so few places to have a nice dinner date in Southern Alabama? Zoe Hart asked herself these exact same questions as she set foot in one of Mobile's newest restaurants with Joel her eyes immediately zoomed in on her ex-neighbor and his new lady of the night. It was so not like Wade to bring a girl out on a date, but the fact that she was away for five months reminded her that people could and have changed for a lot less time.

She took a couple of deep breaths and entered the room, swallowing the ball of nerves that would settle in her throat every time she was around Wade. It had never been like that – even after they broke up, she was still sort of comfortable around him. Well, yes, it did take time for her to heal, but after the initial shock, she was still able to talk to him or be around him.

Now it was hard to even be in the same room with him, so what was left for engaging in an adult conversation? She watched in well-hidden horror as her boyfriend and her ex made small talk and laughed about something that had happened earlier. She wasn't listening. She didn't want to listen. She wasn't too fond of this new friendship growing between the two of them and she sure as hell wasn't going to encourage it. No way would she be spending her free time with the man that broke her heart just because Joel wanted to make friends with him.

She sounded selfish, but she knew herself best and knew that the more she spent with Wade, the more things would get harder and harder for both of them. She hated to admit it, but from the looks of it he was happy with his girl, holding her hand as he spoke to Joel. Why ruin it when they were both happy now. Or were they?

'Honey, you wouldn't mind, would you?' Joel asked and Zoe only nodded, too lost in her thoughts to listen to her boyfriend. It was only when the dark-haired writer sat across from Wade on their table that she understood what she had agreed to. She took a deep breath and sat between the two men, sharing an awkward smile with the bartender that once both pulled at her strings and calmed her down with just one crooked smirk. The same one he was wearing right at the moment.

'Doc, this is Kendall' Wade introduced them to each other and Zoe shook her hand coyly. The girl in front of her was blond, wore a lot of makeup and was as curvy as a Sports Illustrated model. No wonder she was with Wade. Kendall was right up his alley. For a moment there the fact that Wade hadn't changed one bit shook her foundations and she found herself short of breath.

'Would you all excuse me?' She was already at the exit, gasping for some fresh air when she heard a chair pull back and then some steps approaching her. She sighed irritated that sometimes Joel acted as if he was a puppy, following her everywhere she went. The cool Alabama air, however, made her feel calm and the slight breeze brought the sensation of being somewhere you belong. The thought that she would overcome the mess that were her feelings for Wade came across her mind and she smiled at the nothingness.

Somebody touched her shoulder and she almost jumped, startled at the sudden presence of somebody else.

'I'll be right back, Joel.' But when she turned it was Wade that was standing behind her, not Joel.

'Aren't you supposed to be with Kendra or what's-her-name?'

Her irritation with the presence of the blond bimbo was so obvious it made Wade smile.

'You jealous or somethin'?' The bartender made a few shy steps and Zoe became hyper-aware of his cologne and the fact that he was so close to her for the first time in a really long time.

'No!' She lied. 'How's your back? Is Lavon giving you a hard time with the meds? 'Cause I sure hope so…'

Wade let out a chuckle.

'Thank you for helpin' me back at Earl's. I owe you one.'

Zoe just nodded. There was this weird silence that settled in that very moment. They weren't used to not talking. Or at least before they weren't. Now they were different and everything was different. Or maybe it was just the two of them – two ticking time-bombs.

'Turns out Kendall' Wade emphasized on the name of the woman 'is a big fan of your boy's book. They haven't stopped talking about it for a while now.'

Zoe Hart turned her head and she was overwhelmed with the feeling of defeat as she saw her boyfriend talking and laughing with Wade's girl, not giving a damn about her, alone with her ex.

'Let's get inside.' She suggested and turned towards the entrance.

'Hey Doc, I'm glad you're here. In Bluebell, I mean.' Wade then took a few big steps and for just a fragment of a second, Zoe could swear she felt his hand on the small of her back as she entered.

They took their seats and smiled at each other. Zoe Hart found something weird in the gaze of the bartender. It was as if some lingering feeling was still there – as if he had been trying to hide that but in the process made it more and more obvious.

Then the waiter came and interrupted their awkward eye contact.

'You still like that French Chardonnay, Doc?' Wade asked with a small smile, knowing well that the answer to his question was "yes".

* * *

It was a miracle how the night hadn't ended in tears. Or punches being thrown. No matter how hard he tried, Wade couldn't imagine why he wanted to be friends with Zoe's new boyfriend in the first place. Was it his subconsciousness aching for even a little bit of contact with Zoe Hart? He didn't even want to answer to that question.

He was supposed, though, to be aware of Kendall's warm naked body, soundly asleep next to his. He was supposed to feel nice; he was supposed to be excited and glad that a woman this attractive was in his bed, wearing nothing but her perfume. But all he could think about was how good it felt to be around the little brunette doctor and how annoying and completely boring that writer of hers was. He sure had felt nice when he had to punch him in the gut, even if it had been just pretend. It had still been nice.

Kendall shifted in her sleep and let out a small grunt, but besides this she was as asleep as it can get. Wade on the other hand was lying awake, counting all the seconds, the minutes, the hours, until he could make her a breakfast, bid her adieu and never call again. This night he had found out that his bedtime activities were so much less entertaining and pleasant compared to when Zoe Hart wasn't back in Bluebell. He had gone back to being the town Casanova, sleeping around with every girl that would say yes to him, but the moment the petite doctor rolled back in town, his thoughts started trailing off, thinking about that long luscious brown hair, those long legs and enticing curves that were once his. Even tonight he didn't find the pleasure he sought and he thought that maybe he would never find it in anybody else than Zoe Hart. But he quickly banned this thought from his mind and closed his eyes, begging every creature in the sky to gift him one god damn night without dreams of Zoe Hart and her full lips pressed against his.

Her kissed woke him up. No, not Zoe Hart's kisses, but that would have been nice. Kendall was smiling on top of him, her eyes glowing with anticipation as if she was expecting another round of last night's activities. Wade just grunted annoyed with the presence of the girl and quickly climbed of bed.

'You ought to go, Kendall' Wade murmured. Kendall just snorted embarrassed that Wade was practically telling her that this was a one night thing and gathered her clothes.

'I reckon it's that Zoe doctor? I saw how your eyes lit after you saw her and how you watched Joel last night' she asked calmly, already on her way out.

'Yeah' the blond bartender admitted without realizing what he had just said.

'Well, good luck with her. Seems a little too high maintenance for you, though.' She smiled and opened her door ready to leave. 'If you ever need a shoulder to cry on or… you know. You have my number.'

Wade found himself needing a really cold shower. The freezing water didn't really help out his injuries – half of his back was scratched and bruised, his shoulder still sore and his headache hadn't disappeared no matter how many pills he took. The cold shower, though, made him completely numb – both to the physical pain and the dilemmas that were running wild inside his head - which altogether made him feel much better.

He was at the Rammer Jammer half an hour later, and had already polished every single glass and cutlery, getting ready to welcome the patrons. He buried his mind in his work, engaging in small talk with the local fishermen, half-listening to Dash's plans for a new play, this time set for Thanksgiving, and Lemon's rant towards Crickett, who was once again ignoring her.

'Wade, can I get a cup of coffee?' Her voice was as loud as a bell and as sweet as Agnes's sweet tea. He looked up and was glad to find out that there was no sign of her annoying boyfriend. A smirk grew on his face which apparently made the pretty doctor uncomfortable as she shifted nervously in her seat, trying to look anywhere but him.

'Anything for the pretty Doc.' the bartender winked at her. Zoe's cheeks blushed as she tried to hide a smile.

'Do you miss me?' This question shook the very ground he was standing on and his hazel eyes zoomed in on hers. There was some playfulness to her tone, but it was as if she was trying to disguise something else. She looked down, averting his gaze and continued. 'I mean, now there isn't anyone to short-circuit the electricity every time they try to blow out their hair, right?

God, how much he wanted to say that he misses her more than anything or that it caused him almost physical pain to see her with that boyfriend all the time and that he was so incredibly sorry about everything he had done to her.

'Yeah, it's much less fun without you and your nice little short shorts prancing around, blowin' fuses.'

'Where's Kendall, right?' Zoe asked quite shyly.

'Well, didn't really work out, you know.' He blurred out and placed a hot steaming cup of espresso in front of her. The Rammer Jammer usually served their coffee black and bitter, but he had invested in an espresso machine, back in the day when they were still dating just because of her. 'No cream, three sugars, as you always drink it.'

Zoe bit her lip, apparently realizing that Wade still remembered how she drinks her coffee.


	3. Chapter 3

**So there it is! Another update. I hope you like this one just as much as I do. I had a teeny-tiny writers's block but a recent trip really gave me ideas and next updates will probably follow up real soon.**

**I do not own Hart of Dixie.**

* * *

_Candice Hart sat next to her daughter and looked her straight in the eye, like she had always done when Zoe was into some trouble during her childhood. Then she took a deep long breath, because she knew her daughter's reaction since before she positioned herself next to her._

'_Zoe, are you sure about this?' Just as she expected Zoe huffed and tried to stand up and leave the room, but her mother stopped her. _

'_Yes, Mom, for the hundredth time, I am freakin' sure.'_

'_It's just. You know I like Joel. I do, but…'_

'_But you still consider him a rebound, don't you, mother?' _

_Zoe had taken after her in so many ways and Candice Hart saw a younger version of herself in the brunette doctor. They were both honest to the core, no matter how humiliating the truth may be and they both spoke their minds without thinking about the consequences. _

'_Bluebell and Wade really took a toll on you, Zoe.' Candice put her hands on Zoe's and smiled softly, wondering if it was even worth it to continue with the talk she had in her mind. 'And you know how much I liked that Wade kid; he brought out the best in you, honey. But you just came back from this place. And again you're ready to commit. Don't you think it's a little too soon to be involved with somebody again, when that was the reason you escaped that little Alabama town? Because love was becoming too complicated. Don't you think it's a little early to jump on that bandwagon again? '_

_Zoe huffed and laid her head down on the back of the sofa. _

'_Zoe, I don't mean to interfere, but just a couple of months ago you were swinging like a pendulum between the lawyer and the bartender. You need a little break from men.'_

_Candice Hart knew perfectly that she was in no place to give advice on men to her daughter, but what could she do? Zoe was once hurt by her father, then by Wade, and no matter how much she liked Joel, she still thought it was too early for her daughter to be in a serious relationship again. Another heartbreak would totally wreck her neurotic offspring._

'_You are in no position to judge, mother.' Zoe stood up, took her purse and on the way to the door she said: 'I'm moving in with Joel. But I suppose you will not be coming to the housewarming party, right?'_

* * *

God, she hated it when her mother was totally right and she despised the moment that the dreaded "I told you so" would come out of her mom's mouth. Zoe Hart was so confused right now – she was constantly being smitten and charmed by Wade and how he remembered small things about her, as if he was trying to impress her all over again. Not that she would be buying that act any time soon – he had gone back to his old ways of sleeping around and playing the part of the town's heartbreaker again and maybe this time it would be even harder for him to part with that role. Not that she was intending on giving him another chance. No!

She had her own slice of heaven with Joel. He was safe, he was loveable and he was everything she had ever wanted. He was on his way to win some big-shot literature prize for his book and he couldn't stop to talk about it for the past week.

'Zoe, I'm going to the Rammer Jammer. Wade promised he would take me fishing.'

Zoe laughed, her panic well hidden behind smiles and chuckles. She still found the idea of the two of them bonding absolutely ridiculous.

'Joel, please. You sound like a fifteen-year-old on a first date with the quarterback' she gave him a quick peck on the lips as he made his way out.

Zoe was back to reading through her magazine, bored out of her mind. For some reason Brick had the unexplainable desire to be on call for the whole week and every night she was alone at home, doing something she had probably done at least twice this week, while her boyfriend was out there bonding with her ex over fishing and sports.

Could she say she was jealous? Yes, she was jealous. Joel's stories about his bromance with Wade had constantly left bitter aftertaste in her mouth and she was yet to figure out if it was because Joel was spending all his free time with Wade instead of her or was it the fact that Wade could barely say two normal sentences to her, but didn't find it difficult to spend a whole day with her boyfriend. Was she jealous of Wade spending time with Joel; or was she jealous of Joel spending time with Wade?

Flipping through the pages of Cosmo, she felt the punch in the gut karma had just given her. Was it irony that one of the articles in the magazine was appropriately titled "Love triangles and how to handle them"?

'Zoe, when you are standing on two chairs, you eventually will find yourself fallen on the ground.' Her mother's words echoed in her mind as she tried to convince herself that she wasn't in any kind of love triangle. She was here with Joel and Wade was here with whoever was his girl for the night. They had nothing in common with each other now except maybe the fact that they both liked to spend their free time with a certain New York writer. She came to the conclusion that she was just feeling nostalgic of the past and Wade had nothing to with it. She was in love with the memories, certainly not in love with the person.

Yet, she decided to give the article a shot:

"If you ever find yourself as the common denominator between two boys and you have feelings for both of them, remember that your intuition is your best weapon. After all, they do call a woman's instinct her sixth sense. Your intuition is your subconsciousness telling you what you have already decided, but are too afraid to admit to yourself and the world around you. Don't worry about the choice you make because if it is the one your gut tells you, it will probably be the right one. One simple way to apply this to your problem is to (if possible) get the two boys in the same room. Then look at your feet. To whoever they are pointing, that is the man that you have already chosen on a subconscious level."

Zoe sighed and laughed out loud at the ridiculousness of the article. It was one of the funniest things she had ever heard. She would still be skeptical even if the right answer to her inexistent love triangle bit her behind.

Two hours later she was at Rammer Jammer, ready to pick Joel up and head for home. She expected him to be carrying pounds and pounds of fish, knowing how good of a fisherman Wade is and how he probably helped him. Instead he was staying there empty-handed with a glass of orange juice in his hand. Wade traced her eyes and chuckled.

'All he caught was a cat fish, Doc' He the patted him fatherly on the back. 'He'll learn. Good thing you're here now. His catch is better than mine now.'

Wade wined at the tiny doctor and she remembered. She was sure her feet were pointing towards her writing boyfriend.

She was wrong.

Her $800 Louboutin heels were pointing straight at Wade's. She tried to ignore it with a sad smile.

* * *

For two hours now they hadn't said a word to each other. Joel was constantly checking his phone and sighing heavily every time the screen turned out to be empty. At first it was okay, Wade didn't even realize he was doing that until after the tenth time when the writer frowned and dropped his fishing rod next to him. Wade thought he was just tired or bored, but when Joel started checking his phone again and again and again it was starting to really annoy the blond bartender.

'Dude, drop the phone. The smell of desperation reeking from you'll scare them fishes' Wade complained and turned his gaze upon Joel. 'What's up anyway?'

Joel put his fishing rod down next to him and that created small waves around where his bait was and Wade realized talking and moving too much might scare the fishes. But all was lost the moment Wade asked the question. Joel was too much like Zoe – they both fully explained how they felt when asked what was going on with them. Most of the residents in Alabama just smiled and answered with "Nothing".

'I think Zoe is mad at me. Again.' He really was desperate, Wade thought. And the fact that inside out he was celebrating like it was Christmas because Zoe _might _be angry at Joel certainly did him no good at trying to look impartial to their relationship.

'It's probably nothin', man.'

'No, I think she's angry with me for being friends with you.' Joel blurred and looked at him with guilt. Wade could see how that would be a problem. It was just as when George was dating Tansy – Wade had forgotten all romantic feelings towards his ex-wife but it was still weird seeing them together. Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly the same. 'I don't think she's too fond of you and me bonding together.'

Wade didn't understand why exactly that would be a problem. Their so-called friendship had nothing to do with the little doctor.

'I think she's worried I might say somethin' I ought not to or that I'd be scheming some grand master plan to break you to up.' Wade said as Joel looked at him, a thousand questions running across his face. Wade continued. 'It's just that this was somethin' I used to do a while back.'

The bartender swallowed the shame of that confession. It was like he had just had an outer body experience and actually realized that that was exactly what Zoe was afraid of.

'Wade, I do know that you and Zoe dated.'

He wasn't surprised by that. Zoe wasn't one to be able to keep a secret and she had probably told him pretty much everything. But by the pride written all over the face of Joel, because he knew of Zoe's past relationships and that he was okay with that, Wade suggested that maybe, just maybe, Joel didn't know everything. And that, for some reason, was such a relief. There hadn't been a day that he didn't regret sleeping with that girl and betraying the Doc's trust and he would have really like if he didn't have to go through the embarrassing experience of explaining to Joel how he broke Zoe's heart and made a complete mess of her.

'Well I'm glad we cleared the air. But just to be safe, maybe you should buy her something nice or just surprise somehow. Show her that she has nothing to worry about. Appreciate her.'

He would laugh at himself if he could. Appreciate her?! As if he appreciated her while she was with him.

'Wow, man that was deep.' Joel said gladly as he patted him on the shoulder. 'You don't look like you have that in you, 'cause… you know. You look like such a ladies man.'

And then they continued to wait for something to take the bait in silence. Joel's smile suggested that he was in a much better mood not moping around if Zoe might be angry with him or not. Once again Wade had helped Joel's relationship with Zoe and if it were possible he would be punching himself in the gut right now. It was one thing to not like the new boyfriend of the girl of your dreams. It was completely different to help him get on her better side.

The bartender had so many feelings rushing inside of him. He was happy that by helping Joel, he was making Zoe happy. He was angry with himself for even bothering with Zoe and her boyfriend and he was annoyed out of his mind how Joel was getting it all sorts of wrong with Zoe, as if he didn't even know the girl he loved. Which brought him to the last and the most dominating feeling that had taken over Wade's mind. It was pride and a little bit of selfishness – he was so glad that he knew what would make Zoe happy and he felt kind of deviant by not sharing everything he knew about his former flame to Joel. He figured if Joel hadn't got to know Zoe by now, maybe he wasn't even trying. Wade knew everything about the petite brunette even before they were in a relationship. Wade had just decided that he was going to let Joel figure out Zoe by himself. He couldn't take mending their relationship for the writer every time he made the wrong move. That wasn't in his nature and as bad as it sounded Wade Kinsella wished that Joel would keep doing the wrong things. And if that didn't help the non-existent relationship the bartender had with the doctor, at least Wade would have the pleasure of watching Joel slowly booking his flight out the great state of Alabama.

'Wade, what was your relationship with Zoe exactly?' That came out of nowhere. Joel looked kind of concerned and Wade realized he had no other option but answering the question.

'Well, we dated for a while. But at first we were just sl…' And he couldn't continue because he knew it would Zoe in trouble. Yet, he couldn't stop the images and the memories flooding his mind. Her hot body sliding against his, her lips kissing his without ceasing. The smell of her that lingered in his nose for the rest of the day or the feeling of her bare chest pressed against his. All those memories made him blush a little and goose bumps shook his entire body. Good thing he was so good at concealing his true feelings.

'Never mind that, why do you want to know.'

'It's just that you and her – you're like from two different worlds. She's all "dream big, do big" while you're so laid back and it seems like you didn't fit each other at all.'

'I guess I was just what she needed at the time. A little bit of a break from everything that she had on her mind at that moment. We were kind of casual, so none of us felt like it was necessary to think about the future; we weren't that serious.' He lied. How could they not be serious when he was so in love with her. You don't just fall in love with a total stranger. Or maybe that just didn't apply to Wade and Zoe.

He was offended that Joel considered him so irresponsible and unsuitable for Zoe. Truth be told, in Wade's opinion they used to be perfect for each other – Zoe's body fitted to a T next to his and it was as if her small hands were made just so that they would lay perfectly in his. But of course he couldn't tell him that. He was trying to be impartial and sharing his continuing affection for Zoe wasn't the way to achieve that.

'Why'd you break up?'

So Zoe hadn't told him absolutely everything. That meant he could invent something that wasn't as horrible as what had really happened.

'We just drifted away. No drama, nothing. We're still friends, aren't we?'

Truth be told, he wasn't sure what they were.

'Oh, right.' Sighed Joel and looked at his phone again, expecting a sign that Zoe wasn't mad at him.

* * *

'I talked to Wade about you, Zoe.' Joel was wearing a half smile half a concerned look on his face and Zoe bit her lip, scenarios running wild in her head what Wad could have said to her boyfriend.

'And?' She bit her lower lip, trying not to look Joel's way, but just focused on the road.

'Well, I asked him about your relationship.'

'Really?' She made a mental note to herself to hit Wade in the groin when she next see him for even answering Joel's inquiries. 'And what did you learn from him that you couldn't have just asked me'

She was sure Joel could sense the irritation in her voice, but at the moment she didn't even care. He knew perfectly well that she wasn't happy with the friendship between the two of them and there was no reason to hide that.

'Well, he told me that you weren't that serious and that that was what you needed at the time. Something about being laid back with someone and not thinking about the future. And that you broke up drama-free. You just drifted apart, right.'

She just mumbled a confirmation of this lie and promised herself a nice little conversation with Wade sometimes in the very near future. Like tomorrow morning kind of future.

She couldn't stand lying to Joel, but she felt that the "Wade" chapter of her life was long passed and she couldn't imagine herself telling Joel the nature of their relationship. And especially the part where Wade had chased her half-way through the country to confess his love for her.

'What I didn't get was how it all started' Joel pursued her into telling him and Zoe realized how much she hadn't told him. For example, he would never imagine her as a casual sex type of girl, but there she was last year running around and sneaking with Wade. And a part of her really didn't want him to know that.

'Well, you know. He was kind of a ladies man and there was all this flirting and all. And I guess it just happened. But we both realized not me nor him were suited for a relationship at the time.'

'But you're with me now. In a serious relationship. And we're happy.' He said matter-of-factly. She could almost hear the smile on his face growing, even if she wasn't looking at him. His voice was full of happiness and anticipation, as if that was the most normal and obvious thing in the world. He laid his hand on hers as she shifted gears.

She just smiled faintly, admitting to herself that recently she was everything but happy.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this update. I wanted to ask you a couple of things regarding future updates and I would be so grateful if you could express you opinion on them as well as this chapter. First, I would like to know if you like reading longer chapters or one on the shorter end, because I, personally, would prefer a long one over a short any day. As you know, I am new to fanfics and it is still kind of hard for me to write long and really quality updates, so I am setting a goal for each chapter to be a little bit longer than the previous one.**

**Next thing: I want to know if you like the dynamic of the story for now - it is kind of on the gloomier side, because that is exactly how I imagine the characters would feel - I kind of am a real-life Zoe Hart, all nerves and panic most of the time :D **

**So, yeah. I look forward to your reviews and want to thank you for taking some of your time to read this. **


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you for all the wonderful reviews and being such great readers. I told you this next update will be coming quickly. Sorry it's a little shorter, but I promise the next is going to be better as I already have the next few chapters planned out. I hope you like this. Please read and review!

* * *

The sun rays came through the window and woke up Zoe. She would have loved this peaceful wakening if it hadn't been her bad mood and the need to break something, preferably something of Wade that was left after Joel's fishing trip with the bartender. And just the thought of Wade talking about their relationship to her boyfriend infuriated her to such levels that she had already forgotten her appetite and the need of coffee. And to her, a coffee in the morning was a necessity she could not dare to skip on. She looked at the clock and found out that there were two more hours before she has to go to work.

'Perfect for a little trip to the Rammer Jammer.' She said as she was putting on one of her designer dresses. For some reason she chose one that would accentuate on all of Wade's favourite places as if she wanted to show him what he had given up on when he had cheated on her with that bimbo on Battle of the Bands. When she was completely ready, all made up and polished, she kissed Joel on the cheek, who was still soundly asleep and with no intention of waking up soon.

When the bell on the door of the Rammer Jammer announced her arrival Zoe Hart was surprised to see that even in seven thirty in the morning, the place was packed. From all the corners of the room the smell of bacon and pancakes and maple syrup hit her and she took it in, convincing herself that until she had a nice little chat with Wade not even the most exquisite of breakfast would satisfy her.

'Good morning, Wade!' The bartender's eyebrows raised as he heard just how joyfully Zoe greeted him. She smiled at him with her 24-carat smile and sat on one of the barstools directly in front of him. She rested her chin on her small fist, waiting for him to come closer. He took the same exact position as her and shot her a smile himself.

'Can I have a word with you? Somewhere less crowded?' Zoe slid off the chair and with some kind of feeling of victory watched his reaction to her dress. 'You coming?'

Wade followed her outside behind the bar. When they were far enough she turned around to face him and got surprised by how close he was actually standing. His cologne caressed her skin and she could almost feel his breath crawling on her skin. Instinctively she took a deep breath and took in the musk in his perfume, the light smell of detergent, coming from his flannel shirt, and the fresh scent of coffee. She now noticed how his tight muscles were contoured by the white t-shirt he was wearing underneath.

Wade's sharp intake of air as he came even close to her made her snap out of whatever she was having. She was trying to convince herself she wasn't attracted to him anymore, that she wouldn't fall back into the same pattern with him. She knew that probably he was just messing with her for no apparent reason – he was just having fun. He didn't' have feelings for her, no. She asked herself why this entire time she had imagined there were lingering feelings in him.

Still she was angry at him. As angry as she had never been around him. She didn't really justify what she did, but before she even knew what she was doing, her small palm swung in front of her and met his right cheek, slapping him as hard as she could.

'How dare you?' She almost shouted. 'You have no right to tell Joel whatever!'

Despite his red cheek and the slight imprint of her palm on his side, Wade was laughing as if she was the most funny and laughable thing in the entire world.

'Wow, Doc! Chill! It's not like I told him what your favourite position was. He wouldn't be able to pull that off.' He was still laughing out loud when he turned her back on her and started walking back to the Rammer Jammer.

'Wade Kinsella, you come back here!' This time she raised her voice and stamped her four inch high heel to the ground. Wade turned back on his feet and two hazel eyes het chocolate brown. Zoe noticed how he clenched his hands in two fists, like he always did when he was mad about something. She may have been away for half a year but she still knew him well enough what he was feeling. It had taken her some time to crack the walls he had built around him open, but once she did, she felt like she knew him better than she knew herself. And apparently that still applied to the present.

'What, Zoe? It's not like I told him everything. And half of what I did was completely made up, wasn't it? Wasn't it true that despite everything I was still just a placeholder for George? Hm?

Zoe swallowed the sudden shame that overtook her body. It was a mistake to come and talk to Wade. It was a mistake to even bother with him. He was going to what he wanted and she no longer had a say in that. But despite everything she realized Wade was completely right.

'This isn't yours to tell, Wade. It was my burden to carry, not yours.'

'Not mine to tell?' Wade exploded. 'Doc, do you remember by chance that it was the two of us in that mess. It wasn't just you! You weren't the only one that ended up hurt and messed up. Hell, you made George Tucker look like a frickin' Yeti.'

'Still, you could've said nothing. Now I have this burden and this lie that I have to keep covering up. I do not want to lie to Joel, Wade.'

'So just tell him. He's a grown man; he can handle your having history.'

'I can't just tell him that. What do you think he'll do when he finds out that you chased my flight to tell me you loved me?'

'Why would you have to say anything, when you clearly don't want him to know about the two of us?'

'Because, Wade, real relationships are built on truth and honesty. Something you clearly have a problem with.'

She realized what she had said but it was a little bit too late. She could see Wade turning red and she could trace the veins on his arm. Zoe saw Wade Kinsella hurt for the first time in a long time and that broke her heart. Wade took a step closer, prepared himself for another, but then backed off.

'I – I didn't mean that.'

'Yeah, you did, Doc. Don't lie.'

'It's just. I can't lie. I don't do lying.' Zoe sat on a bench and rested her head on the wall behind her. 'Wade, I have to tell him, but then… it'll be complicated. And I mean. I am not fond of you two being friends but considering that you're his only friend here I guess there will be some tension between the two of you.'

Wade sat next to her and put his hand on her back and started drawing little circles with his thumb. Zoe guessed he still remembered that this was the way to really calm her down. She shot a small and short-lived smile at Wade. As much as she hated – yes, she did hate the idea of the of them even speaking to each other – she loved Joel and wanted him to fit in this little town she loved.

'What's with that, though, me and Joel can't be friends. Why?'

She couldn't answer that. It was just weird. She was in constant panic that Wade might say something about the two of them and that freaked her out. She wanted to keep these couple months with Wade all to herself and for some reason, she thought that Joel wouldn't be so pleasantly surprised when he find out they almost loved each other.

'I don't know. I guess it just freaks me out that you're so calm around him and that you accept him with such ease. Out of the people I imagined you the last to get friends with him. I mean…'

She didn't want to confess just how much she was bothered by Lemon and Wade dating, on pretend or not.

'You mean what..?'

A smile appeared on Wade's face as he predicted her next words. 'Stop gloating, Wade. Yes, I was quite bothered by you and Lemon. I still am. Kendall or whatever. Didn't like her either.'

'We have to learn to be friends.'

Then she reached her hand out and shook his. 'Hi, I'm Zoe and I would like to be friends.'

Wade smiled, but she swore she could see a bit of sadness behind his two hazel eyes.

* * *

Joel walked in the Rammer Jammer, a wide and bright smile slapped on his face. Just from the look of him Wade knew that Zoe hadn't said anything to him about what they had talked about earlier today. Joel looked practically radiant, a spring in his step and all. He sat in front of Wade and shifted excitedly in his seat.

'Dude, are you high or somethin'? You look way too happy.' Wade commented as he was cleaning some glasses.

'I'm just very excited, bro. I have the most amazing news in the world!' Wade imagined what would have happened if Joel knew the whole story and how he would have reacted, would he still be friends with the bartender or would he cut all ties.

'Well, spill it then! Are you waitin' on an invitation?'

'I just talked with a guy from The New Yorker. They're inviting me to work for the magazine.'

Wade had no idea what The New Yorker was. To him it sounded the same as one of those made up words Zoe used to point out how expensive a bag or a pair of shoes was. Stuff like Louboutin and Vuitton sounded both hart to pronounce and to spell out so he didn't even bother remembering them all. The only thing he knew was that those were some fancy designers he would never even afford.

'That's great, man. A beer? On the house?' Joel nodded and Wade slid a bottle of the amber liquid in front of him. 'Does Zoe know?'

Joel's face fell a little when Zoe was mentioned.

'I intend on telling her in a couple of days when I come back from the meet-up in Birmingham. I will be meeting the guy from the magazine there and then I'll meet up with some fans of the book.'

'Well, the name's The New Yorker, right?' Wade asked a little bit confused. If Joel was going to get the job for this fancy magazine or whatever, the name suggested that he'll probably have to move back to the Big Apple. 'Are you going to move or are you staying here?'

'I suppose I'll be moving… And I hope Zoe comes with me, too. I am thinking about what you said about surprising her.'

Wade completely froze. How could Joel take back Zoe to that big city of theirs? She had just come back and brought rays of sunshine in his life just by seeing her. He was miserable that he didn't get to touch her or hold her and kiss her, but at this state he was glad he was seeing her prancing around in her short shorts and high heels. During the five months she was in New York everyday passed with the thought that when Zoe Hart comes back she'd be coming back to be with him and not to live with some annoying writer. And now, when he felt he had even the slightest chance to get her back, Joel was going to take her away again?

He wasn't a home wrecker, but from what he had seen and heard Zoe and Joel weren't having much of a home, were they? And then, as his thoughts passed in his mind like a fast train it hit him. Zoe wasn't going to leave Bluebell; she had just got her job back and she was in a good place. She had made peace with every single town resident, even with Lemon and George. She even made peace with Wade this morning. She wasn't going to leave Bluebell, she belonged here now. He felt bad that he foresaw a heartbreak for Zoe. Joel was just as she was when she had come here – overambitious and waiting for their big break. And Joel had just received it.

'You sure she'll be okay with moving yet again, man?' Wade asked but Joel made him a sign to be quiet as he picked up his ringing phone.

'It's my manager, I'll have to tell her.'

Then he went out, a spring in his step and all, as if he was sure Zoe Hart would follow him everywhere he went.

* * *

Zoe Hart walked in the Rammer Jammer for the second time this day and by the smile she had on, Wade concluded that she was in a much better mood than she was this morning. She sat in the same chair her boyfriend sat just less than an hour ago and the bartender wondered why she wasn't accompanied by the annoying writer. It seemed like they were running around town on their own for the last couple of days.

'Hey there, Doc.' Wade greeted as he got a little bit closer. 'You look happy.'

'I am. I had over ten patients. And that was just before noon. I'm just glad that work is going so great. Never thought that this many people would want to see me.'

Wade smiled, his smile a reflection of Zoe's grin. She was happy and that made him happy. He had always told her, way back when they were a couple, that she looked the most beautiful when she was happy. And damn, she was beautiful. Her hair was tied up in a messy but still pretty ponytail and her long neck exposed those beautiful collarbones she had. Her eyes were glowing and all of Zoe – even her posture – screamed that she was happy.

'Well, you've grown on this town. Everybody here loves you, Doc.' Her smile widened even more. 'Did Joel tell you already?'

He cursed himself after that question. It was obvious that Joel had said nothing to the petite doctor and her mouth formed a little pout, probably irritated that Wade yet again knew something of her boyfriend before her. She was going to be miserable after that, but once Zoe Hart wanted to know something she would go to great lengths to get whatever information she wanted.

'Tell me what?'

'Nah, it's his news, not mine. He should tell you.'

Wade sighed and strategically took a few steps away from the doctor. He made himself busy with wiping the water sports from the glasses with a piece of cloth but Zoe took none of it. She just stood up from her seat and took another one right before Wade.

'Spill it, Wadester!'

'Well, Joel did say something about having a job proposition for some New York magazine.'

'What! The New Yorker?!' She almost shouted and that made the few patrons that were in the bar to turn their heads to the pair. 'That's a really big deal, Wade. That's a career-maker. Wow.'

'Same thing, yeah. And he said that maybe he'll accept.'

Zoe frowned and Wade's heart ached. He hated to see her sad and right now she was definitely sad. And he was the reason behind that. Because he couldn't keep his tongue behind his damn teeth. If he could he could turn back time and would have not told her anything about Joel. He would have made small talk and talk about the weather, he would admire her smile from a distance. He was going to be her friend. He wasn't going to be the guy that made her miserable. He promised this to her and to himself the moment they shook their hands. It was Joel who had to tell her. He was going to be asking her to move back to the big city. Yet, even if Wade hoped he would be seeing an end to Joel's residence here in Bluebell, he had to at least think of something to not panic and frighten Zoe even more.

'Well, he could write from here, you know. There are email and stuff. He could write from anywhere.'

Zoe nodded and mumbled after about five minutes of being silent.

'New York, huh?'


	5. Chapter 5

**This update is quite intense and I believe you've waited for this for some time now. I have a couple of more ideas, but the update will probably be a little bit late, because I'm up to my neck in school work.**

* * *

Wade's game of GTA V got rudely interrupted by the loud banging on his screen door.

'Come on, Lavon!' he complained, thinking that it was his mayor landlord at the door. Lavon Hayes had been specifically instructed not to bother Wade on his free weekend, because with everything that was happening around him, he really needed a break from the real world and a vacation in the virtual where it was completely okay to steal a car and run over a prostitute. He wanted to spend his entire day alone, only in the company of his joystick and his console and a six-pack of his favorite brew. He pressed pause and reluctantly dragged his feet to the door.

'Doc, what the..?' He didn't get to finish his question as Zoe head peeped through the open door and looked carefully around.

'Good, you're all alone.' She then sighed heavily as she settled her small hands against his bare chest and pushed him inside of the gatehouse. The deja-vu took over his entire mind, making him remember the good old times when they were sneaking around, pretending to be doctors, nurses or the way Zoe had once put it – hot strangers on a train. _Fun times!_

Without even asking if her timing was appropriate, Zoe took a seat on his couch and wrapped her hands around her knees. Wade immediately recognized the signs of panic and worry in her posture and in her face. Her gaze was lacking its usual spark and sharpness and small dark bags had formed under her eyes. Her hair, usually in some intricate hair-do, was tied in a simple messy bun and shockingly, she was wearing zero make up. For the first time since she had come home to Bluebell, Zoe wasn't wearing one of her designer outfits that had labels with weird names, attached to them. She was wearing an oversized Crimson Tide jersey shirt, a pair of leggings and some sneakers that showed just how small and petite the doctor really was, not climbed up on one of her sky high heels. Even without looking like she was one of the girls from the glossy fashion magazines she liked to read, Wade could swear he had never seen Zoe Hart more natural and beautiful. Despite the tiredness of her face she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She tilted her head back and the dark veins on her neck contrasted with her pale skin. Wade wondered how with that much time spent under the Alabama sun, she still lacked the usual tan.

'What's up, Doc? You look really tired. Did some complicated heart surgery happen or what?' He tried to make a joke, making Zoe nothing but smile sadly as she curled up against her knees. He was starting to worry – he wasn't used to seeing her that tired and lacking her usual sassy attitude and gigawat smile. That made him worry even more.

'I have nowhere else to go. I'm sorry if I interrupted something.' She glared to the screen and the paused game of GTA, something Wade had forgotten the moment the pretty doctor came inside of his living room. 'I really need to just… relax. Not think of anything. I'm having a rough couple of days. Can I join you? This game looks fun.'

Wade just nodded and sat next to her, giving her his extra controller. He pressed "start" and they just started playing against each other, enveloped in the silence.

After about ten minutes, Zoe started to smile more and even let a chuckle or two slip out of her mouth. But then her phone vibrated and he smile disappeared just as quickly as it appeared in the first place. She left the controller on the coffee table and didn't even bother to turn off her game. Eventually she crashed her stolen Audi A7 in a traffic sign and the screen glowed, announcing her game lost. She sighed again and turned off her phone, trying not show Wade who was calling. Luckily, he saw.

'Why are you avoiding Joel, Doc? What happened to you?'

'He didn't tell me about New York. He just told me about some stupid meeting up in Birmingham and he left yesterday. And he's coming back tomorrow night.'

Wade put his hand on her knee carefully, trying to see if Zoe was okay with it. When she didn't even react, he shook her gently and then spoke softly.

'Maybe he thought it through and backed off and he decided to not even tell you. Who knows…'

Why in his right mind continued to justify Joel's bad moves and mending their relationship?

'It's not just that.'

Wade shot her a complicated look. What could be more important than her boyfriend hiding such an important thing for both of them?

'You know, I shouldn't even bother you. You looked like you were having fun. And I interrupted.'

'You know I don't mind having you around, Doc. I enjoy your company.'

'I'll – I'll just go.' She mumbled as she passed around him. He reached out his hand and clutched her by the elbow, gently but enough to stop her from leaving. His eyes met hers and her shoulders fell in sign of defeat. Wade could see the desperation in her eyes and only God knew just how much he wanted to help her, to relieve her from the stress she was under, one way or another.

Then Zoe Hart exploded.

'I was having breakfast at the Butter Stick and Shula came and she told me that she had heard Crickett tell one of her Belles that Dash was in Birmingham for some supplies for one of his next plays and that he saw Joel come out of a jewelry store. With a bag!' She could almost catch a breath. She had started pacing back and forth around the room, continuing her rant. 'And I am freaking out, you know. Lavon is in frickin' Fillmore on some business, AB is at a family reunion and Rose is still just a teenager to be burdened with my stupid problems. You were the closest to a friend, Wade. And I really needed to blow off some of the steam!'

She stopped, just so that she could take a seat on Wade's couch and then she continued, waving her hands all very ZoeHart-like.

'And I know I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, at first I did. I don't know if I could do that; if I even want to be with him anymore.'

He wanted to stop her helplessly, but he didn't dare do that. Instead, images of him stopping her midway a rant with a passionate kiss invaded his mind. But he couldn't. He could have though, but that wouldn't have helped with her problem.

'Well, weren't you telling everybody that you were ready to ride off into the sunset with him and all that chick-flick stuff?' Wade scratched the back of his head and slowly took a seat next to Zoe but far enough so that he would not let her perfume crawl over his skin and make his attraction to her even more unbearable. Once he wouldn't have even let her finish her sentence; he would have just thrown her over his shoulder and lay her on his bed with the smirk, he knew she loved. He would mute her silent moans with gentle kisses and would kiss her on that spot on her neck that made her shiver. But right now all he could do was stay as still as possible and listen from a safe distance, hoping that the clichéd advice he would give her would calm her down.

'I did.' She tilted her head away from him as if she was trying to hide something from him. He wasn't happy with that, because all he wanted to see was his face and her reactions. Now he had to guess. 'I've been having second thoughts, though. And when he hid the fact that he had a job proposition from the New Yorker I started thinking that maybe he didn't like here it as much as he said he did. And I can see he isn't blending in and adjusting. He sticks out of the crowd like a sore thumb. I think he wants to go and I am the only thing that keeps him here. I don't want to be responsible for his career, because that job is a big deal for him. And I don't want to go back to New York. I just settled here. I am finally in a good place – Brick and I are working perfectly, and I am going to miss everybody. I can't just leave Lavon and Annabeth. And even you… I can't… I can't leave you!'

This time he couldn't stop himself. It was like he operated on batteries and somebody else was controlling him. He completely blacked out and the next thing he remembered was pressing Zoe against his chest, aware that her soft lips were crashing against his. He had wrapped her tiny body in his arms and he felt as her whole body loosened and relaxed. Zoe whiffed out a small breath, but didn't back out of the kiss. No. She responded with almost as much passion as Wade's. She was kissing him with such anticipation as if she had waited too long to do this and had finally let herself have it.

Wade felt the tiny hands of the doctor slide down his stomach and he smiled in between short breaths. His smile quickly died as Zoe pushed herself out from his embrace and stood up, collecting her stuff at the speed of light.

She walked up to the door and then stopped turning her small body to Wade's direction, who was still in shock of how fast it had all happened. He could see her cheeks flush and tears filling up those gorgeous brown eyes of hers.

'You couldn't have made it any easier, could you?'

Then she left the room and Wade heard as she went down his porch and into her car; the rubble underneath her tires announced that she navigated away from the gatehouse.

* * *

It had been two days since she was at Wade's. She had thought about it a lot and had decided not to ever remember this again. Because every time her thoughts drifted off to that afternoon, her cheeks filled with blood as she remembered her strong arms, tightly wrapped around her, pulling her even closer to him. She felt safe. Not safe as she was with Joel. In that very moment she felf as if nothing bad could ever happen to her; in that moment she knew that Wade would protect her and care for her no matter what happened. She had forgotten how sweet such a passionate kiss was. Sure she had her moments of passion with Joel, but she realized that the most passionate of nights with the New York writer could not even compare to that kiss. It was as if she was born again. And that was what terribly disoriented her and she hated being disoriented. She knew that nothing would ever be the same with Joel, because every time he would lay a kiss upon her lips she would compare it to this one – the one that made her completely numb for everything but Wade's body against hers – even for just a moment. She felt embarrassed and she felt ashamed because she had just done to Joel what Wade had done to her. She felt awful realizing how terrible of an act that was. She went there to seek advice, even though she knew that Wade wasn't going to be the most reliable source for it. There was still some unexplained attraction between them and it was like the tension was bigger than ever.

It didn't help that she had already fallen asleep with tears in her eyes when her boyfriend came home. He had slipped under her sheets and had hugged her body.

When she woke up though, Joel had turned the other direction as if even in his sleep he knew that something was terribly wrong. He woke up soon after her, finding her on her laptop buying GTA V online.

'Honey, can I talk to you?'

That was what she feared the most. She thought she was transparent; an open book. She was easy to be read and most of the time her emotions were as bright and clear to be read as neon signs. Yet somehow, when she nodded and closed the lid of her laptop, the only thing she saw on Joel's face as a response to her was a wide smile and joyfully glowing eyes.

'What's up? How did the meet up go?'

'That's what I wanted to talk to you about.'

'What about the meet up?' Zoe swallowed and wondered if he'd lie to her or would he tell her everything he told Wade earlier.

'Well, a couple of days before the meet up I got a call from upstate.' Joel waited for her reaction but when apparently there was none, he continued, his tone a little more carefull. 'And I got offered a job at The New Yorker.'

'I know, Joel.' Joel's was completely indescribable. His eyes widened surprised and his jaw dropped a little. 'Wade told me. The New Yorker, huh?'

Her boyfriend just nodded, taking her hand between his and then taking it up to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss upon her ring finger and then met her eyes. Zoe Hart panicked on the inside, because she predicted what was about to happen.

'Joel, I need to tell you something.' She fidgeted nervously in her seat, relieved that she had stopped him.

'Zoe, what's been going on with you? You've been so distant and kind of miserable in the last few days. And why didn't you pick up your phone. I got sick worried.' So he had noticed.

'I've been thinking through some stuff. And I hoped we can have an honest adult conversation.' Zoe started, grabbing a strand of hair and swirling it between two fingers.

'Yes?'

'Well, how do I put this? Wade wasn't completely honest with you; neither was I.'

Zoe sighed, folding her legs underneath her and then she turned, facing head on Joel, who was wearing a confused grimace.

'I don't know how you'll react to it, but there it goes. Wade and I slept together numerous times before we had even went on a date for the first time. We were kind of this thing…' She crossed the fingers of both of her hands and gestured some undefined shape. 'We were sort of a casual monogamous couple.'

She couldn't read Joel's emotions at the moment. Maybe he felt betrayed, maybe he felt nothing. She was terrible at this, envying a certain bartender for always being able to read people and emotions on the spot.

'And then on Christmas, my mother convinced me to give the relationship a real shot. And then he cheated on me. And we broke up. And then after I had spilled all of my imaginary feelings to George Tucker, I was drunk and hurt, and I slept with Wade once again. The next day I packed my bags and left for New York.'

Either Joel was taking it very well or Zoe was completely unable to read even the person she was living with for the last four months.

'Then Wade followed me all the way to Georgia and told me he loved me. And then I promised him that when I come back from New York, the deal was for three months, we'll talk and we'll give it another shot.'

Zoe smiled sadly as Joel was assimilating all of this.

'So, you both lied to me about being casual and drama-free?'

'You have no right to judge me, Joel!'

'Hell, yes I do! How could you hide the fact that the person I've been calling my buddy for the last two weeks was secretly, and maybe not that secretly, in love with you?!'

Zoe was pissed. How could he even dare talk about keeping important secrets away from each other? Her story with Wade was almost six months ago and was just history, that she wasn't feeling comfortable sharing; his secret was about the present, the future! Their future!

Joel took a deep breath and tried to smile. He cupped her face with his two palms and made her look him straight in the eyes.

'Zoe, look. It was history. I forgive you. '

And before she even realized what was happening, Joel was standing on one knee, pulling out a small velvet box form his pocket. He opened it slowly, biting his lower lip, and the diamond inside her blinded her.

'Zoe, I want this job in New York. And I want you! Will you be my wife, Zoe Hart? Will you come with me to New York where we clearly belong and be my wife? I love you! '

The whole room was spinning. Only one word echoed in Zoe's head – wife. W.I.F.E. Inexplicable fear crept upon her. Zoe Hart realized she was dead scared of that four-letter word. Zoe Hart then realized she wasn't afraid of this word. It was the word before it. _My wife._

'I'm not going back to New York, Joel.' Her ears were ringing. Her head was pounding. 'For once I will put myself first.'

'So no New York?' Joel could only mumble this. The color had drained from his face and he had the expression of seeing a ghost. 'You're not coming to New York.'

He said more as a confirmation than as a question. Zoe took it upon herself to close the tiny velvet box and the click of the closed lid got Joel out of his trance.

'Joel, you need to go. You belong there, you've waited forever for an opportunity like this. And I am so very proud of you.'

He stood up and scratched his neck behind his ear. 'You're not coming with me.'

'No. I'm staying.'

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**I hope you liked this update and I would really really love to hear what you have to say! Did you like Joel's departure? Thank you so much for reading and I am looking forward to your reviews! 3**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing the story. I just feel amazing reading all your positive feedback. Also, this update could be the last for this week, because I will not be able to post anything during the weekend as I will be visiting a friend in a different town.**

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It sucked she wasn't living in the carriage house any more. It didn't just suck, he absolutely hated it. And he didn't hate it because Lynly was a boring neighbor, never blowing fuses and all, but because he had been so used to seeing Zoe almost every day while she was still living in in the carriage house, almost running towards the fuse box when the electricity had been cut off by one of her girly appliances. That was their usual rendezvous point and Wade usually wasn't able to call it a day without a little bit of early morning banter with Zoe Hart.

He would just stare at the carriage house – every part of him screamed that Zoe wasn't on the other side of the pond. She was on the other side of the town. She wasn't blowing fuses, she wasn't pulling pranks on him anymore. She wasn't coming over to his place either to borrow a couple of candles or even to sleep in his house until he would fix the fuse box in the morning.

But now she lived in some apartment he had never even been to with her precious boyfriend, who had decided to keep an important thing about the both of them. Wade pondered, thought a lot about his talk with Zoe about whether to tell Joel or not about their past relationship and Wade wondered why she would want to keep it hidden from him. He later more jumped to the conclusion than come up with a reasonable argument – she was embarrassed by him. It was either that or she still had feelings for him that threatened to come out. And his heart fluttered that there might be the slightest chance of that.

Couple of days after she had come to ask for his advice, the taste of her lips still lingered on his. He would close his eyes, he would but blink and she would be in front of him, wearing a Crimson Tide jersey, leggings and the oh-so-unusual for her sneakers. She would be sitting next to him and her small fingers would be pressing the buttons on her controller while they were playing GTA V. Then she would be kissing him, pulling him closer and closer to her until they become one. She would wrap her arms around his neck and she would be smiling in between kisses.

But recently memories In his head started having the habit of getting mixed up with his deepest wishes. And they were nothing but that. Wishes. Dreams, that would never transform into reality. They would dwell inside Wade's head and eat him from the inside out.

For two days straight he was distant and distracted, his consciousness always following a certain tiny doctor wondering if she was okay, what was she doing, was she wearing a giant diamond on her ring finger, was she packing her bags once again and booking a flight out of this teeny-tiny Alabama town. There was this little piece of light inside of him that still thought that she would not leave. She would not give up this town and she would stay. And at this moment Wade didn't really cared about the reason that had her staying here in Bluebell. He just wanted to be around her, knowing that she was just at the tip of fingertips.

But that tiny little light was dying with every single unanswered call from him. He wanted to hear her beautiful voice, her joyful chuckle or even her sad cry. Anything would have been fine in this moment! But instead, he'd just get the operator, telling him that she was unavailable and would be alerted of his call as soon as possible.

'Lemon, have you seen Zoe?' Lemon just gathered her eyebrows together and shook her head when he asked her. It was high time for her to walk into the Rammer Jammer and demand her usual cup of espresso. Every time somebody would open the door and go inside of the bar, Wade would be turning his head, begging God that it was Zoe. It would never be Zoe.

'Annabeth, where is Zoe?' AB was his last resort, having turned a best friend of Zoe. She looked everywhere but him, fidgeting and moving like she had sat on the Fire Ants rock. She knew.

'She's at her place.' She sighed and sat at the bar. Wade immediately figured out that she hadn't been supposed to say anything, but despite that Annabeth shot him a sympathetic smile as she gave her order to Wanda. 'Wade, please, do not tell her I told you. She'd kill me. She wants to be alone. And don't tell anyone. Not even Lavon. I mean, I reckon she'll explain it to you.'

Wade grabbed the keys to his car and climbed into the old Camaro as fast as he could. His heart was beating like crazy – his imagination was running wild, creating every imaginable scenario. Was she hurt? Was she happy? Was she hiding from somebody? But given the fact that she hadn't been seen by anybody in more than just a couple of days, he came to the conclusion that she was hiding from the entire town. All he needed now is an answer to why she was hiding from the supportive people in this town.

When he reached her place, he gave it a quick look. It looked a lot like the practice. Same dusty blue paint peeling here and there, same big and clean windows with white shutters. Even the curtains were similar to those of the practice. Or maybe they were completely different. He didn't know the first thing about curtains and such. That was usually Zoe.

He shot a sad smile at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath. As he was climbing the porch his feet had started to become heavier and heavier with every step as if they were turning into lead. It was bizarre how tired he was at the top of the five or six stairs. His fist banged on the dark red door and he waited, his heart going off its usual rhythm and beating to its own pattern.

'Go away, Wade' He heard her voice and blew out a breath he had been holding for far too long. She was home. She was safe. 'I don't want to see anybody right now.'

He made a move to the doorknob, but found that it was locked. He shook it and realized how pathetic he looked. He didn't care. He wanted to see her. Hold her, even if her Joel was still here and they were still going strong.

'Come on Zoe, let me in!' He shook the doorknob again, desperately wanting to lay his eyes on the pretty doctor.

'You've done enough for one week. I'm going to _kill_ AB for telling you. Go away!'

'Doc, I just want to see if you're alright. Just open up. Don't let me in if you don't feel like it!'

He heard the sound of a key entering the keyhole and the clicking of unlocking the door felt like a freaking symphony to his ears.

She opened her door widely and spread her arms. 'Happy?'

He didn't even manage to get a good look at her face, but once he had heard her voice without it passing through a couple of inches of wood, he knew one hundred percent that she had been crying a lot.

He set his foot between the door and the door frame, as Zoe tried helplessly to close it in his face. He smirked at her not giving up, but at the end Zoe Hart just hissed a curse under her breath and opened her door once again.

He didn't even need to raise his gaze to meet hers. He already knew he'd find her face swollen and reddened, dark circles around her beautiful deep brown eyes and her hair, tossed into a messy bun on top of her head. This was her usual look when something was wrong. It was sad that he had become used to seeing her like this lately.

When he really moved his eyes onto her, he became terribly aware of just how bad she was feeling – she was pale and tired, her makeup-smeared eyes were red from all of that crying and her lips were chapped so badly, they probably had a few cuts all over them. Wade's lips were tingling with the desire of kissing her and making her forget all that hurt that was written all over her. He gathered his palms into a pair of fists and resisted the urge.

'Yes, I look terrible. No, don't look.' She murmured as she made a step to the side, giving him the space to walk through that door.

Nothing in this house said that there was a Zoe Hart living here. He had spent a whole lot of time in the carriage house and had learned how she liked to decorate; this wasn't her. Nothing here looked like it belonged to her. While she was living only a small pond away from him, she always had gardenias and other fancy flowers all around the room, making it smell awfully like her. The scent would later soak through his flannel, and his shirt would smell like her; like all the flowers in her small house. The only thing that reminisced of the carriage house was a plain vase that looked more like a large glass with a couple of peonies in it. From what he had gathered while they were together, peonies were her favorite flowers. Wade suddenly became very angry at the fact that he had never given her any peonies; or any flowers at all, come to think of it. He made a note to himself to appreciate her more, whatever happened between them.

He entered the room that served both as a bedroom and a small living room. Her bed was messy not made, and there were like a thousand paper tissues lying around the room. It wasn't like her to keep her room that messy. The control freak Zoe Hart would have never let this happen.

'Whoa, Doc, did you have like a Nicholas Sparks movie night or something.' He tried to make a joke, but only got a sad smile out of her as her eyes distractedly looked around the room.

Wade felt terrible that he felt good when he came to the conclusion that there was only Zoe's stuff in the room. Any sign of Joel was erased, as if he had never set foot into Bluebell territory.

'You know,' Zoe began and her eyes filled with salty tears; Wade could almost feel the lump in her throat that made her sound even more hurt. 'Joel proposed.'

Wade turned on his heel and his heart skipped a beat. Or maybe several of them. He cocked his eyebrow in surprise as he focused on her small left hand. Her ring finger was as naked as it could be and he saw how Zoe put her hand in her left pocket as if she was embarrassed of the fact that her ring finger wasn't bearing the weight of gold and diamonds. Wade didn't say a word. He wanted to jump through the roof, to climb up to the moon and shout at the top of his lungs happily, but seeing her broken down like this just caused him to spread his hands open wide and wait as she curled her hands around his waist. He pulled her to him and buried his nose in her hair, the smell of guava coming through his nostrils. He stroked the back of her neck and then pulled away. Zoe Hart's eyes were drowning in tears as she bit her lip. She shut her lids and only one tear escaped through them. Wade wiped it out with his finger and let go off her not expecting the disappointed sigh that followed.

'What happened, Doc?'

Zoe sat on her bed and raised her knees up to her chin, encircling them with her hands. She placed her head on her kneecaps and started talking slowly and quietly.

'You happened.' Her voice had been so tired, it lacked its usual rasp. 'The same day I came to you for advice Joel proposed. And then just… that kiss…' She swallowed lightly and turned her eyes to face his. 'I realized I wasn't ready for this kind of step. He asked me to move back to New York with him. I said no. And he left. He had already packed his stuff.'

The tears started running down her face as she buried it in the palms of her hands. Wade didn't have to wait another second. He hated to see her that miserable. The blond man sat next to her and took her into his embrace once again.

'Get off me' Zoe whined but did not make a move. 'You messed me up, Wade! You did, didn't you? And I realized that until I had my feelings sorted out for you, I couldn't make such an important step, be it with Joel or whoever.'

She raised her head and Wade slowly removed his arms from around her. She wiped her tears and turned to him.

'Ever since I found Joel, I thought you were a closed chapter, a fragment of my life that ended badly. Turned out that the moment I came back and saw you sipping your beer on top of your car, I still had feelings for you. Feelings I couldn't even define. Do I hate you or do I still love you.'

Wade guessed Zoe didn't even realized what she had said, but that confession meant everything to hi. So she _did_ love him. Maybe not now, but sometimes in the past she longed for him just as much as he longed for her. She had loved him. Maybe she still did.

'After you left me, Wade, I became so distrusting; I didn't even trust myself when I looked at the mirror. Then Joel came and he was safe, he was never going to hurt me. Never. But I guess at the end he chose his career rather than me and it became obvious to me what I had done to you and to everybody else that at some point I could have considered friends. I had done the same. And I couldn't have done it again. Not to Lavon, not to AB, and certainly not to you.'

She sighed and wiped another tear.

'I guess I was more in love with the idea of Joel – safe, loving, never going to make me cry or hurt me – than I was in love with Joel himself. He was selfish at the end. He wanted me to leave the one place I felt like I could call my home. Well – I guess I had done the same thing. Don't think I did this because of some undying flame I have for you, Wade. I did this to stay true to myself. Because the more I trust someone, the more I get lost in them – I start to depend on them and lose myself in the process. You made me that, Wade. You did that to me, after you knew about how my father had neglected me all this time.

So I did this for myself. A fresh start at the place I want to call my home from now on. I still don't know what I feel towards you, but I am going to ease into it slowly rather than jumping head first. So, no, I did not do this because of you. This time I put myself first. And even if it hurts, I like the feeling of being important, even if it is just me.'

Wade Kinsella had always been ready with a smart-ass comment about every single aspect of his life. And rather seldom did Zoe Hart had him speechless. But that was one of the times when he had to swallow his pride and declare himself defeated. Because Zoe Hart had never been so blunt about her feelings, never had she expressed all the pain and all the bile that she kept hidden inside of that little body; inside that big soul of hers.

So he did the only thing he could think of.

He took two big steps and was right in front of her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look up and meet his hazel eyes. He could see the hurt and the misery that had found their way up to her beautiful face, marking it with all of their ugly signs. She sighed as if she pleaded him to let go, to leave her to process it all, but he couldn't . He couldn't just leave and know that she would be all alone drowning her misery in her tears. He made her climb on her tiptoes and laid the gentlest of kisses on her chapped lips, making her exhale.

'Please,' She begged, but didn't even move an inch.

Her lips were salty and dry, and the slightest irony taste of blood hinted him of how tired her whole body was of being sad and miserable.

He kissed her forehead and then bent down, aligning his lips to her ear. Wade could sense the shivers and goose bumps that shook her tiny little body, which caused him to smile a bit, huffing a breath of air. There was still electricity between them, one that can be denied or disputed. They both could feel the air getting so thick a knife could cut through it, when they were like this – alone in a room, inches apart from each other.

'You are important to me, Zoe Hart. I care. And I am here. Until you say so.' He kissed her lightly on her cheek and wiped another tear from her cheek. Then he left.

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**That was quite intense, but I absolutely loved writing this chapter! Tell me what you think of it as I would like to hear your thoughts and maybe you can share what you think may happen later on - I love reading your predictions as it helps me come up with new scenarios and they are altogether very inspirational. Thank you for reading and sticking with the story!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there! Long time no see! I am so incredibly sorry for my absence but I was dealing with some big personal issues and I wasn't in the condition to write anything. Thank you, James Blunt, for your new incredible album, which brought back my inspiration. Make sure you check it out, it's amazing.**

**I also had my birthday on Monday and I guess the universe decided to make me a present and gave me the initial idea for this update.**

**On another note, a lot more positive now. This chapter is all about Zoe coming to terms with her new independent personality and her goal to "find herself". Despite it being short, it is one of my favourite chapters and I love that it turned out a lot more positive and cheery that the previous one. I think the next updates will be just like this one! I also want to thank you for your lovely reviews, the follows and the favourites. They mean a lot to me and I love it that you appreciate my story! Thank you so much!**

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For the past month Zoe Hart was numb to all feelings but frustration and irritation and funnily enough it was all because of men.

'Isn't it always about men?!' She scoffed as she shut the top of her laptop. Zoe had been beyond angry with her landlord Dash DeWitt for publishing all of her personal experiences with Joel on his blog. Bluebell's best blogger had published oh that little blog of his every single detail about her break up with Joel, or how he had put it – "Zoel No More!" He had also dared to eavesdrop on Wade's visitation and had even, in quote – "leaked the town's Casanova's confession of his undying love for the tiny doctor". Thanks to him now the whole of Bluebell knew everything about Joel's sudden absence and everybody was thinking that Zoe had dumped the writer to go back to the bartender.

And speaking of bartenders and writers, Zoe Hart was in no mood to see or hear from neither of them. Joel had called a couple of times, asking her to reconsider her decision, while Wade was making his daily visits to check up on her. She would usually just show up at the door, shoot him her most irritated smile and slam the door in his face. She would hear the tires of his Camaro going away from her place and that would bring her a sense of relief.

She was inexplicably angry at her father, correction, fathers, for abandoning her like that. She would try to get in touch with Ethan Hart – cardio thoracic surgeon number one – and his secretary would tell her that he was in some super important surgery. But what she didn't quite understand about her own feelings was the frustration she was feeling towards Harley Wilkes – there was no point with being angry at somebody who was already dead, but Zoe was longing for a fatherly figure in her life right now. She wanted somebody to just hug her and kiss her on the forehead, telling her that everything would be fine.

She had grown quite fond of Brick and had even started looking up to him as if he was starting to take place of her ever so missing fathers, but of course as every male figure in her life right now, he had also disappointed her – he had been on some legal trip with George to Atlanta and was going to be back in another five days. And Zoe Hart was going to go insane in no more than just two.

And then, her best friend in this whole town, Lavon, would be siding with Wade and practically dragging Zoe's behind out of her apartment. He had made her have breakfast with him one morning and Zoe couldn't help but notice all the strange looks and Shula's loud whispers. So she just put the money for her order on the table and also avoided Lavon for the end of the day.

To put it in a nutshell Zoe Hart was going through her men-hating phase and the only things she found entertaining were either thing on the male population of the Earth or watching marathons of Sex and The City. This actually wasn't the best thing to do, because she had already maxed out her credit card on buying Manolo Blahniks and it had been only season 3.

What finally got her out of her hermit condition and made her go out of her apartment was a medical emergency. Molly Hodges was having a third baby and Zoe Hart was her doctor. The birth of her baby son Brad made Zoe realize she hadn't been a doctor for a long time. All she had had going in her mind for quite some time was her own little drama involving her Joel and Wade. And while she didn't like to think about it, the first thing she had felt when she said no to Joel was relief. Relief that she wouldn't have to hold any more of her feelings and that she wouldn't have to pick and choose every single word that came out of her mouth. She had decided that she was going to hold on to that relief and that she would never silence her opinion, because it "might" hurt somebody. That was a harsh thing to do, kind of rude, but it was what she needed at the moment.

After a rather difficult birth in non-hospital environment – it seemed as if all births Zoe assisted to were in a house and not in a hospital – she just didn't have a choice. She was dragged to the Rammer Jammer where Annabeth was going to buy her a celebratory drink. The doctor hoped that Wade wouldn't be on shift and she hoped so badly and so hard that she believed herself, completely neglecting the fact that Wade actually owned the place and was spending most of his time there now.

All her self-induced hopes were shattered when she entered the facility and the first thing her eyes did was to slide to the bar. There he was. His hazel eyes were glowing and smile was beginning to grow on his face. His charming grin made her forget everybody else in the bar, and the place was completely packed. Zoe couldn't stop the smile growing on her face either as she met his eyes. She had forgotten just how attractive he was – she could see every muscle and every curve on his toned body through his white t-shirt. His flannel was hung over his shoulder. She could see his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily. She could read the excitement on his face. She could swear that she saw him biting his lower lip, probably trying to suppress another grin or some other involuntary reaction, his body was having at the sight of her. Zoe completely zoned out all the comments, all the whispers and she had even failed to notice that Annabeth was missing from her side.

Wade Kinsella was like a magnet to her and she never really quite got how she had gone to the bar. All she knew now was that Wade's eyes were on hers and in that moment she felt like she was the only woman in the world the bartender had his eyes on.

'Well, you look good, Doc.' Wade said as he slid a cup of steaming espresso in front of her. 'A little exhausted, but nonetheless very good.'

Then Wade leaned against the bar counter and her brain went crazy, doing cart wheels, when the smell of his light cologne, mixed with the fresh coffee, invaded her nostrils. She sighed deeply, picking herself together. She realized that despite everything she didn't want to give Bluebell gossip machine another reason to be the talk of the town.

'Thank you, Wade.' She took a sip of her coffee, three sugars, no cream. Wade had remembered. This made her feel all warm and giddy inside.

She didn't know why she was feeling this way – she was feeling like a teenage girl with a crush on the quarterback. She had broken up with her boyfriend not a month ago and while she had done it for her sake she finally had admitted to herself that she had lingering feelings for Wade, despite everything that had happened between them. But she couldn't let herself lose herself in another relationship. She had to find herself again and just then could she embark on a new adventure with Wade.

'How are you doing, Zoe?' He had called her Zoe; not her usual nickname, but Zoe. He had called her like that before, but something in his voice today made it sound like a song. His smile was still on his face and this made Zoe grin just a little bit wider.

'I am okay. I think. I am still thinking everything through.' She saw how Wade swallowed as if he was reminded of the heartfelt conversation from a month ago and all of Zoe confessions. 'Wade, I want to apologize.'

She reached for his hand and when her skin touched his, electricity shook her entire body. She shifted nervously on her seat and then slowly pulled her hand away. Wade's eyes were glowing as if her touch had made his eyes shine more ever so slightly. She smiled a nervous smile.

'Can you come out back, Doc?' Wade nodded to the door at the back that led to the small backyard that usually server as a parking lot for the delivery trucks.

She followed him out back gathering the looks of every single patron in the bar. When Wade stepped out, he turned to face her and that made her think of their last talk out here. She had been so bothered that Wade had talked about their relationship with Wade and there hadn't even been a proper reason. She had just been irritated.

Now she wanted to clear the air. She wanted them to get to know each other better, to become friends again, to just work their way towards a relationship and then working hard to make it right. She wanted to tell him all that, but something was stopping her.

'I am sorry that I have ignored you and shouted at you, while you only wanted to look after me. You have always looked after me, kept me safe. And I had no right to shun you out like that when all you wanted to do was help me get through a sad time in my life.'

Wade made a step closer and smiled rather shyly at her. Was this a sign of hip accepting her apology?

'And I don't want you to jump to any wrong conclusions, but I want us to be friends. Just friends.'

The smile on his face died down and then it disappeared completely. He didn't look angry or mad, he looked vulnerable. And that made her heart break. He took a step towards him and laid her palm on his bicep, his muscles exposed from the short sleeves of his shirt.

'For now, at least. I still need to sort out some problems of mine, Wade. But I want you to be a part of my life from now on. And after I have all of my crap figured out, if you still want me or like me…'

She took a step back and bit her lower lip. Her gaze lowered and focused on the ground as if the gravel there was the most important thing in this situation.

'Maybe we can try then.' It wasn't her that spoke these words. It was Wade and now he was standing just inches away from her, his sweet smell filling up her lungs. As she looked up, her lips started to tingle for a kiss.

She knew it was wrong, the moment their lips touched and their breaths met, but chills ran through her body and the only thing she knew is that this was not wrong in any way. It was as right and as natural as breathing to her. It was so electrifying and she felt like being born for a second time. Every time their lips met she wanted more, she craved for more, deepening the kiss. His muscles had become tense as she felt how his whole body tightened. She felt his arm wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She buried her fingers in his hair as she blew out a breath.

The kiss was short. She felt like she needed more, this wasn't enough for her and she found herself asking for a lot more but for the moment that kiss was just the right amount of physical interaction these two needed.

'Wow.' She ran her hand through her hair and stepped a few inches away from him. They both smiled when their eyes met for the first time after the kiss. Wade kissed her on the cheek then and his stubble brushed against her skin.

'Baby steps from on, Zoe. I won't screw this up. Not this time.' It didn't sound like a promise. There was confidence in Wade's voice that made it sound more like something he was so sure of, he could swear by it.

'I will go now, Wade.' The bartender nodded with a confident smirk and entered the Rammer Jammer.

'The coffee's on me, Doc'.

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The next day Zoe invited Lavon over to her place. She offered him some coffee and black and white cookies and sat right before him with a guilty smile on her face.

'Oh-oh, Lavon Hayes knows that look, Zoe Hart!' He gasped as his big eyes widened even more. 'What did you do this time, Big Z! I won't be a part of master planning this time, Zoe!'

Lavon warned her but they both knew that this was as far from the truth as possible. No matter how many times the mayor promised to himself that he won't help Zoe with her crazy ideas we had always found himself be right in the middle of it, right next to her.

'No crazy ideas this time, Lavon!' Zoe shot a smile at the mayor of Bluebell and brought the cup of coffee to her lips. She was so excited to ask him that question that had been bugging her for some time now and she had finally felt confident enough to do it.

'Lavon, is there a place in the plantation I could live at?' Zoe bit her lip, trying to stop a chuckle at Lavon's surprised face.

She wanted a change, but at the same time she wanted things to be different. She wanted to have breakfast at Lavon's every morning; she wanted to blow out fuses and banter with Wade; she wanted to sit on Lavon's couch and watch football with him and Wade, they with two bottles of beer, she with a glass of wine in her hand. She had finally felt good enough to leave this place. It had memories of Joel, plus she hated how Dash would forget all rules about privacy on a daily basis.

What surprised Zoe was the bear hug Lavon caught her in, once he had processed her question.

'Ah, of course there is, Big Z! There is always room for you! You can take one of the guest bedrooms.'

When Lavon put her down, he pulled the end of his shirt down, smoothing over any wrinkles than like a true politician reached out a hand for a hand shake.

'Lavon Hayes would gladly accommodate you again, Zoe Hart!'

They hugged once more and on his way out Lavon promised Zoe to ask Annabeth if she wanted to her with the packing.

The next morning Zoe checked out of her apartment and gave back the keys to Dash. Annabeth and Wade helped her load the few boxes Zoe had on Wade's pick-up truck.

When Annabeth took her seat inside of the vehicle, Zoe was left alone with Wade.

'Thank you for helping me, Wade.' She smiled.

'Don't mention it.' Wade then shot one sexy smirk at her which made her knees melt and licked the bottom of his lips, then bit them. 'After all that's what friends do, don't they?'

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**Thank you for reading this update and I look forward to your reviews and feedback. I would also like to know what is your favourite part of this update? :)**


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